Okay, here's a question for you folks who are savvy with the details of setting up a WiFi network in your home. I have a cable modem which connects to a WiFi-capable router, giving me four wired ports plus how ever many wireless connections I need, as long as there are enough IP addresses to go around. I have a computer which needs to be set up at the opposite end of the apartment from where the cable modem and router are located, so a wired connection is impractical. I have a second WiFi router (different brand but same capabilities). Can the two routers be set up so that they can serve WiFi devices like a laptop AND talk to each other, effectively extending my WiFi reach? I used to have a WiFi transceiver which could talk through the single router, but I've lost track of it during our recent move between states. I'm just wondering if there's a way to use the second router in a similar manner (wired connection to second computer but wireless to first router).

I'm not sure my original intent is coming through in my first post. Existing router 1 is connected to modem, and via ethernet cable connected to first computer. Second computer and second router, in another room, are connected by ethernet as well. I want second router to be able to access internet through modem via first router. There's plenty of wifi signal at the far end of the apartment, it's whether the routers should support some mode to accomplish what I want. It's not "ad-hoc" since laptops and my printer communicate in "infrastructure" mode. Can it be done, or do I need to break down and buy another wifi transceiver for the second computer to connect to the first router?

I'm not an expert of networking but as studiot said using a second router or access point configured as a repeater will do the job of extending the range.

All you do is set it up as a repeater and then plug into a wall outlet or give it solar powwer (no network cables required) somewhere halfway between the router and the distant PC and it will relay the Wifi traffic to your distant PC. I have used this type of setup successfully in home automation applications with Wifi Nevo Remotes.

Otherwise I suppose you could setup some fancy routing tables on the second router and use it in the way you proposed. That might work but will be a little complex to setup.

If you already have Ethernet to the other side of the building, you just need an access point rather than a second router.

Set it up using the same WiFi SSID and password as the original router's wifi, but on a different channel.

That should allow transparent 'roaming' between the two APs.

A full Router will have a firewall, NAT address translation & DHCP server, putting it's WiFi point on a different subnet to it's upstream link. An access point just provides an extra wifi connection to the existing main router and using that's DHCP & firewall etc.

You can have several APs in the same wired ethernet system, either from ports directly on the router or via a switch. As long as they have identical security settings, any WiFi device will auto select whichever gives the best signal, and switch between them without interruption if you move about.

It seems to me that an inexpensive Wi-Fi PCI card is all you need. How big of an apartment do you have? I have a single Linksys wireless router installed in my home, and signal can be had from anywhere on the three floors of my house, including the basement. In fact my laptop stayed connected to my router while I was at a neighbors house troubleshooting his computer.

Configure router 2 for DHCP. It will recieve an IP address from router 1. As previously stated, configure the same ssid on router 2 as router 1 and the same WPA/WPA2 shared secret key (encryption/password). This should work with no problem, I've used this scenario in a hotel installation.